Argyle Inn brochure, ca. 1910

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Description

Sitting on a knoll above the shore and surrounded by spruce trees, the inset image of a shingled cottage was the main building of a three-building complex called the Argyle Inn. The Argyle Inn catered to rusticators, a term used to denote people who sought a rustic environment embellished with the amenities and entertainments of city life, such as good food, comfortable rooms, interesting places to visit, dancing, and musicals every weekend.

Visitors could reach the Inn from New York or Boston, though the route was somewhat complicated. Rail service provided transportation from Boston, Portland, and Rockland; and the steamboat Monhegan provided transportation for final leg of the trip to Friendship. The Monhegan landed at the Jameson & Wotton wharf, just a short walk from the Inn. An alternative route was to take the train from Boston to Waldoboro, where travelers could then go by auto, carriage, or stage coach to the inn.